Written 2006
Revised Oct. 7, 2021
THE BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, CHAPTER 4, Part 2
A story of Necromantra
By Aladdin
Edited by Christopher Leeson
Chapter 4, Part 2
The Best Laid Plans (Continued)
The next morning, I learned that Captain Arielle had withdrawn from Armand’s camp. She hadn’t gone into Roch but, being still neutral, had taken a position outside the line of fire of the anticipated clash of warring factions. Some of Lord Armand’s people were already wondering out loud as to whether the renowned warrior had slain the Darkuran for some reason of her own, but, of course, the evidence was lacking. The Darkuran ambassador, meanwhile, was fit to be tied over the incident, but the killer had left no trail behind.
Possibly, just to give the Darkurans something else to think about, he gave orders for his host to move into siege position against Roch. Thanks in part to my use as a figurehead, his forces had been recruiting well, until by now his faction was twice the size of Erhan’s muster. That made it unlikely that the Duke would be coming out to fight. On the other hand, a mere two-to-one was no great advantage when it came carrying fortified walls. Probably, the Darkurans, with their superior weaponry, would have to be brought up, seeing as how they could make short work of all obstacles. I doubted that the primitive stone bulwarks of the fortress could resist even the first attack by the intensity of their firepower.
Oddly enough, my killing -- motivated from sheer necessity -- had opened up some positive options. I went to the viscount with a plan. Ostensibly, I was being helpful, but my real intention was to plant suspicion between allies and to slow down the build up to open warfare.
“My lord,” I said to my unbeloved betrothed, “it would be a pity if your Ulikan allies were alienated by a Darkuran atrocity.”
“What are you talking about?” he asked.
“I have seen the Darkurans at war; they leave nothing alive on conquered ground. Worse, if you use them in battle, King Q’zon will consider you to be deeply in his debt and will start demanding greater compensation, more compensation than you should wisely hand over.”
He reacted, but not in the way I wanted him to. “Run along, my lovely,” he said, not looking up from his map. “Only a fool takes military advice from a woman.”
That rankled. I'd gained a new body, but still possessed my well-tested understanding of warfare. I wondered if I should at last "come out" and set him straight about my life story, but decided against it. Being continuously underestimated gives a woman a great advantage, one that should not be lightly throw away.
“I know, my lord. But consider this. You risk gaining the enmity of all the kingdoms around Ulik if you bring the widely hated Darkurans into Man Land, long term. The way I see it, the only claim that Erhan has to power is in his prospect of marrying Princess Arielle. If she were lost to him, his cause wouldn’t amount to much. It’s not like anyone would consider the likes of him inspiring or charismatic.”
“Perhaps,” the nobleman answered, finally deigning to look my way, “but he’s not an idiot and so will be holding her securely. It would take a major assault to win the princess free and, without the Darkuran help, any assault would be futile.”
“There are several ways to look at this. Ask yourself what would be the result if you did rescue her?” I asked.
He straightened. “I sometimes forget that you’re a warrior sorceress and not just a redhead -- even one with a penchant for sleeping yourself to the top. What exactly do you have in mind?”
“If I were to go into Roch myself and bring her out, what then?”
“Why bring her out?” he asked. “Why not just kill her?”
“Because the slaughter of a popular innocent would turn much more of Ulik against you. If I could bring Arielle out and place her into your custody, Erhan might be fool enough to launch an attack beyond his walls to get her back. You could deal with his inferior forces easily enough in the open field.”
He shook his head scornfully. “I think you're mainly interested in keeping the princess safe. Women are always getting sentimental over this child or that pajonga cat. Clear your head, Marinna. Affection has nothing to do with politics. If the reign of Lord Pumpkin taught us nothing else, it should teach us how effective the iron fist can be.”
“Lord Pumpkin was a mighty sorcerer, and that was what made his iron fist so hard. It might be less easy for a man less well advantaged to rule the same way he did,” I cautioned. “Your prosperity will be best served if you make and hold many allies. Arielle would give you prestige enough to draw some especially important kingdoms to your side.”
He regarded me keenly. “As I look at it, Arielle has an even better claim to the hearts of the people than you do. Why should I not marry her instead and set you aside?”
I folded my arms over my breasts. “It matters to me not at all whom you marry, Lord Armand. If you haven’t noticed it, you’re not my dream mate any more than I’m yours. Sooner or later, Q’zon will take me back anyway. That is all I can look forward to as a destiny. I actually do think that Arielle would be the better choice of consorts for you.” It made me queasy, offering my stepdaughter to a crooked politician, but I’d rather have Armand scheming to marry her than scheming to assassinate her.
He shrugged. “You’ve only told me your intention. Now tell me your plan.”
“My plan can best be served by getting Captain Arielle into our cause. Fortunately, I heard enough from her to know that she is not at all fond of Erhan. If we can offer her something worthwhile for her support, I propose having her pretend to choose Erhan’s cause. When she deploys into the castle, I can enter along with her, disguised as one of her servants. That will allow me to meet privately with the princess and persuade her to accept your proposition.”
“Bah!” the nobleman scoffed. “Why should I think that Arielle likes me any more than she like’s Erhan?”
“For the best of reasons. You have the bigger army.”
He looked at me without scoffing. I knew how to talk to a man, having been one.
“Also,” I said, “she has been living as Erhan’s hostage, not his eager bride. And whatever Arielle chooses, I think it will prove acceptable to her cousin. The captain is totally devoted to the princess. She will have a force of arms inside the very castle that you need to take. Something useful could be done with that advantage, I’d say.”
He was frowning, but no disagreeing. “You almost think like a man. But if the princess agreed to join us, how will you get her out of Roch?”
“Easily.” I picked up a bronze candlestick. “Pretend that this is the princess, and pretend that this table is the fortress walls.” Then I made my arm and the candlestick phantasmal and passed it through the surface of the table.
“Very interesting,” he remarked with an appreciative nod. “What partners we might actually become if only I could trust you.”
“You never be able to trust a witch, my lord, especially not a witch who is owned by someone like King Q’zon.”
He obviously agreed. Now, if he only he would be just as agreeable to the rest of what I'd been saying to him.
#
I was with Captain Arielle’s troop when it crossed over the drawbridge into Castle Roch. Disguise was nothing new to me. With my hair blackened and nose reshaped and enlarged by an artful appliance, it would have taken Princess Arielle herself to recognize me.
We settled into new quarters and it was soon arranged for the cousins to meet. I was chosen to attend on the captain during the reunion, and my disguise must have been convincing, insofar as the princess didn’t give me a second glance.
“Wait one minute before you speak,” the older cousin whispered to her young kinswoman. Then she gave me the nod and I went about the room, seeking for listening holes.
I discovered two, the agents behind them betrayed by their life traces. They could have been either Erhan or Armand servants, but it didn’t matter which. I send a magical surge through each hole in turn, strong enough to put a strong man into a faint.
“It is done,” I advised the captain. “Speak your piece.”
“What is done?” asked the younger Arielle, her brow wrinkled prettily.
“Marinna has secured the chamber from eavesdroppers.”
“Marinna?” The girl looked at me. Her incomprehension transformed into wide-eyed horror.
“Why did you bring her?!” she fairly shouted.
“The plan was hers. What’s wrong?” the captain asked.
“She – she murdered my father!”
The warrior-maid looked at me aghast. Seeing no surprise or denial in my expression, she drew her sword -- the same nasty sword she'd told me about.
“Put that down,” I told her. “I've admitted that I've had periods of insanity. There is no way I can make up for the worst things I've did, but I’m earnest in wishing to do the best I can for the princess. After that, I want to leave this land forever.”
“If you killed Lord Tavon, you deserve to die,” the warrior told me coldly, suddenly seeming to be more the warrior and a good deal less the noblewoman. “If not for you, this war would never have been fought at all!”
“She claims that she was possessed by a demon,” young Arielle put in. “I wish I could believe that there was no more to it.” Then she hung her head. “No, I think I do believe it. But it isn’t enough of an excuse to make me feel about her the way I once did.” The princess placed her hand upon her cousin’s fist and pressed the sword hand toward the floor. “I don’t think Marinna would harm me intentionally. Just keep in mind that she’s capable of almost anything when the madness is on her.”
I felt the evaporation of spirit of the camaraderie that had been growing between the soldier and myself. And I also felt a twinge of shame to be the recipient of even the cautious trust that the teenager was bestowing on me. My stepdaughter was not good at hating and holding grudges and I was sorry for that. If she expected to survive in a world like this one, those were valuable qualities to learn, and the sooner she did, the better.
“You came with a plan. What?” the princess asked of me, her eyes reflecting the torch fire.
“We will take you to the camp of Viscount Armand,” her cousin answered for me.
Arielle frowned. “Is that wise? Can we trust him?”
“No. No more than we can trust Erhan,” I ventured. “But if the Darkur attack this city, thousands in it will die. Each one of those beasts is worth a score of Ulikan soldiers, and they command weapons like your defenders can scarcely conceive of. These stone walls will be no obstacle to one of their attacks. If it were not for the Aerwa people, a race equal to them in power, the Darkur would have long since inundated the Wold in a bath of blood.”
I was talking straight on that score. I could only wonder why hadn’t it happened already. I needed to get young Arielle out of this powder keg of intrigue and into a safe place. The only question was, what place would be safe for a royal princess, even on a world as large as the Godwheel?
TO BE CONTINUED IN CHAPTER 5, Part 1
